Thyon (Switzerland) (AFP) - Adam Yates edged Thibaut Pinot after a mountain-top battle in the fourth stage of the Tour de Romandie on Saturday to take the overall race lead.
The 'Queen' stage of this 75th edition of the race scaled five peaks over 161.6 km from Sion to the ski resort at Thyon.
British rider Yates of Team UAE launched his attack 4km from the finish, on the long final climb on high roads hemmed by walls of snow, the peloton's first taste of high Alpine passes this season.
He built a lead of 10 seconds over Frenchman Pinot before the Groupama climber counter-attacked and slashed the lead but could not catch up.
Yates took the yellow leader's jersey from UAE teammate, 20-year-old Spaniard Juan Ayuso, who won the time trial on Friday despite nursing tendinitis in his heel.
"It's a really good performance from the team," said Yates.
"Juan gave me the green light to go for the win.It has been important for me to win, and now I am here celebrating this success," said Yates, who is scheduled to ride the Tour de France alongside two-time winner Tadej Pogacar this year.
Yates holds a slender seven seconds lead over Pinot in the overall standings with Italian Bahrain Victorious veteran Damiano Caruso lurking in third as he prepares a bid for next week's Giro d'Italia.
Colombian climber Egan Bernal of the Ineos Grenadiers showed some form as he rides off an injury coming eighth on the day, a result that lifted him back into the top ten.
The race finishes with a 170.8km run from Vufflens-La-Ville to Geneva on Sunday.
